fisher



' (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

E. T. FISHER.

PAPER DAMPENING MACHINE.

No. 483,738. Patented Oct. 4, 1892.

(No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 3.

E. T. FISHER. PAPER DAMPENING MACHINE.

No. 483,738. Patented 001:. 4, 1892.

Em 67%;- $545680. l

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4. E. T. FISHER. PAPER DAMPENING MACHINE.

No. 483,738. Patented Oct: 4, 1892.

V\\\\\\\\\\\ )l"m I \l A \m mm M n\ 1 \L N UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDMOND T. FISHER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOIt OF ONE-THIRD TOFRED K. PARKER, OF SAME PLACE.

PAPER-DAMPENING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 483,738, dated October4, 1892.

Application filed February 23, 1892. Serial No. 422,342. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDMOND T. FISHER, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Paper-Dampening Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention has forits object to provide an efficient machine orapparatus for dampening sheets of paper rapidly and uniformly, theinvention being intended chiefly for dampening sheets of paperpreparatory to printing thereon by the process of lithography.

The invention consists in the several improvements which I will nowproceed to describe and claim.

01": the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a paper-dampening machineprovided with my improvements. Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal verticalsection of the same. Fig. 2 represents a perspective View of a portionof the machine. Fig. 3 represents an end elevation. Fig. 4 represents atop view.

The same letters and numerals of reference indicate the same parts inall the figures.

In the drawings, a represents the supporting-frarne having bearings forthe shaft 1),

supporting the main cylinder 0, over which the paper to be moistenedpasses. The cylinder c is rotated in the direction indicated by thearrow in Fig. 2 by any suitable mechanismsuch,for example, as abeltrunning on a pulley b, affixed to one end of said shaft.

d represents a water-tank attached to the frame below the cylinder c.

6 represents a guide-roll, which is j on rnaled in bearings attached tothe frame and is arranged so that its lower portion is submerged in thewater in the tank d, the roll 6 being parallel with the cylinder 0.

f represents an endless band or apron, which may be of any suitableflexible material and is preferably of rubber. Said bandis supported bythe cylinder 0, the guide-roll e, and another guide-roll g, which isjournaled in bearings in the frame of the machine at a higher point thanthe roll e and in front of the cylinder 0, the highest part of theguide-roll 9 being preferably at about the same height as the highestpart of the cylinder 0, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

It represents a pressure-roll, which is arranged over the cylinder 0 andis preferably composed of a rigid shaft or core 2 and an elasticperipheral portion or covering 3, which is or may be of rubber, like thematerial of the rolls of clothes-wringers. The roll h is arranged tobear with a yielding pressure on the band f at the point where thelatter is supported by the cylinder 0 and to exert a wringing orwater-expelling pressure upon said band and upon the sheets of papersupported and carried along thereby, as hereinafter described.

It will be observed that the band f is caused by the roll 6 to passthrough the water in the tank (I, said band being moved progressively bythe rotation of the cylinder 0. The band is therefore caused to raisewater from the tank and carry it over the guide-roll g. Sheets of paperto be moistened are delivered by feed-rolls e' z" to the band f at thepoint where said band passes over the roll 9. The sheets delivered bythe feed-rolls are carried along by the horizontal portion of the bandto the meeting-point of the cylinder cand squeezingroll h and in theirpassage absord water from the band. The squeezing-roll h co-operateswith the cylinder 0 in exerting pressure upon the sheets as they passover said cylinder, the surplus water in the sheets being thus expressedand caused to flow back upon the portion of the band between thecylinder 0 and guide-roll g. The water that flows back helps to saturatethe paper between the cylinder 0 and guide-roll g, thus facilitating thethorough dampening of the paper. The paper passes in auniformly-moistened state from between the squeezing-roll h and cylinder 0.

To prevent the paper from sticking to the cylinder 0 and squeezing-rollh as it emerges from between said cylinder and roll, I provide twoseries of fine cords or tapes j j. The cords j are arranged to bear uponthe upper or outer surface of the bandf, and are supported by said band,its guide-rolls e and g, and by independent guide-rolls 7c and 7c, therollers 7c being arranged to guide the cords j away from the peripheryof the cylinder 0 and from the meeting-point of said cylinder and thesqueezing-roll h, while the rollers k are arranged to guide said cords jaway from the band f at a point between the rolls 6 and g. The cords jare supported by the squeezing-roll h and by independent guide-rolls k karranged as shown in Fig. 2, the rolls 70 being arranged to guide thecords j upwardly from the meeting-point of the squeezing-roll h andcylinder 0, whilethe rolls 10 are arrange to co-operate with thesqueezingroll h in holding the cords j in contact with the uppersurfaces of the sheets of paper upon the bandf. It will be seen that asthe paper emerges from between the squeezingroll it and cylinder 0 hisprevented by the cords j from adhering to the periphery of the cylinder0 and passing downwardly thereon, and by the cords 3' from adhering tothe periphery of the squeezing-roll h and passing upwardly thereon. Thecords j are caused by the guide-rolls k to extend horizontally for ashort distance from the meeting-point of'the squeezing-roll h andcylinder 0, so that said cords guide the paper away from saidmeeting-point and deliver it to guide bars or shoes m, which projectover the rolls 717 and prevent the paper from following the cords j asthey pass downwardly over said rolls. The shoes m have their upper edgesarranged to constitute extensions or continu ations of the supportafforded for the paper by the cordsj, the rear ends of said shoes beingarranged to deliver the advancing edges of the sheets to jaws n n, whichare arranged to grasp and carry forward the sheets of paper, and torelease the same and allow them to drop upon a table 0 after having beenwith drawn from the shoes m. Said jaws are mounted upon sprocket-chainsp 11, each jaw being composed of a bar, preferably provided with arubber lip or paper grasp ng portion n Each jaw is aifixedat or near itsends to a sprocket-chain, there being two pairs of chains, one pairsupporting the jaws n and the other the jaws n. The chainp is mounted onsprocket-wheels affixed to shafts q q, while the chain p is mounted onlarger sprocketwheels 4" r, affixed to shafts r r, arranged above theshafts q q. Movement is imparted to the chains 19 p, in the directionindicated by thearrow in Fig. 2, by means of a gear 8, affixed to theshaft 17, and meshing with a gear 8' affixed to one of the shafts r.Said shaft r has a similar gear 5 meshing with a gear 8 affixed to oneof the shaftsq. It will be noticed that each pair of chains p is pro-Vided with jaws n a, and each pair of chains 10' is provided with jaws nn. Said jaws are arranged so that a jaw n will cooperate with a jaw '21in grasping the end of a sheet ofpaper projecting from the rear ends ofthe shoes m, the jaws coming together atthat point, as shown in Fig. 2,and closing upon the paper. The movement of the chains causes the jawsto carry the paper along until the jaw 71' is raised by its upwardpassage over rock-shaft of.

j ustable fingers 6, arranged to strike the end of the sheet just as thejaws release it, and thus prevent any tendency of the sheet to rise, theforward movement of the sheet due to any momentum it may possess beingarrested by said fingers, so that the sheet falls by gravitation to thetable 0.

The feed-roll i at the front end of the machine is positively rotated bymeans of gears 11 71 (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) the gear 2'being aflixed to the roll g and the gear 2' to the roll t, the gear 2'being intermediate. The roll 9 is rotated by the band f, the latteracting as a belt, and imparts motion through said gears to the feed-rolli. The upper feedroll 11' rotates loosely and simply serves to hold thepaper down upon the driven roll i. The roll t" is vertically movable,its shaft being journaled in hearings in vertically-movable arms it,which are pivotally connected at v u. with oscillating arms a affixed toa rockshaft u Said rock-shaft is oscillated to alternately raise andlower the roll t" by means of cams w a on the shaft 1) said camsbeingshown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2, and arms or rods u, each bearingat one end against one of the cams u, and connected at its opposite endwith an arm a, affixed to the The roll 2" tends to press the inner endsof the rods 11, against the cams'u said rods being preferably providedwith trundle-rolls at their inner ends bearing upon the cams. Therevolution of the cams 1% therefore causes the roll 2" to alternatelyrise and fall in a manner which will be readily understood by aninspection of Figs. 1- and 2. The arm a is provided with a series ofvertical stop-fingers u, the upper ends of which are vertically movablein orifices in the papersupporting bed or table a, between the feedrolls and the band-supporting roll 9'. The stop-fingers a are of suchlength that when the roll t is depressed the upper ends of said fingersare below the table a; but when the roll 71 is raised to permit theinsertion of a sheet of paper between the rolls '1: z" the stopfingers aproject above the table Ct and act as gages or stops by which theoperator may position the front end or edge of the sheet insertedbetween the feed-rolls. When the roll 1" is depressed to bear on thesheet and cause its movement by the rotation of the roll 2', the

stop-fingers are withdrawn and become inoperative, so that the sheet ismoved by the feedrolls across the table a and presented to themeeting-points of the rolls 9" and 70 The squeezing-roll h is journaledin vertically-slidin g boxes h, which are pressed upwardly by springs'hso that the roll it is normally separated from the cylinder 0. The rollit is pressed downwardly upon the cylinder by means of adjlisting-screws 72. bearing upon the boxes it, said screws being providedwith check-nuts 7%, whereby they may be locked or held at any desiredadjustment.

The guide-roll e, which causes the immersion of the bandf in the waterin the tank cl,

may" be adjusted to vary the tension of the band, said roll beingjournaled in bearings affixed to frame-pieces e, which are pivoted at cto the supporting-frame, and may be moved or rocked on their pivots bymeans of adj usting-screws e the screw-threaded inner portions of whichare engaged with fixed nuts 6 on the supporting-frame, said screws beingengaged with the frames 6 in such manner that the endwise movement ofthe screws caused by their rotation will cause them to tip theframe-pieces 6' upon their pivots. When the frame-pieces c are moved soas to move the bearings of the roll 6 in the direction indicated by thearrow or in Fig. 2, the band f is tightened, as will be readily seen.

The operation of the machine above described is as follows: Theoperator, standing at the feedtable a inserts the forward edge of asheet of paper between the rolls 2' 2" whenever the roll e" is raised topermit such insertion, the extent of the insertion of the sheet beingdetermined by the stop-fingers a". The roll '5 is then depressed and thesheet is grasped and fed forward, first by the rolls 2' i and then bythe band f and the cords j, said cords being held against the uppersurfaces of the sheets by means of the roll y, hereinafter mentioned,the sheet being thus subjected to the liquid carried by the band f, andat the same time interposed between the cords j j. The sheet becomessufficiently saturated in its passage from the roll 9 to themeeting-point of the cylinder 0 and squeezing-roll h, the surplus waterbeing expressed from the sheet by the roll it and caused to flow backupon the approaching portion of the sheet, as already described. As thesheet emerges from between the roll h and cylinder- 0 it is supported bythe horizontal portions of the cords j until it reaches the shoes m, andis further supported by said shoes until its forward edge is in aposition to be grasped by the jaws n n. Said jaws are timed so as toco-operate in grasping the sheet at about the time that the sheet isprojected far enough to come within the grasp of said jaws, and as thesheet is carried along by the jaws it gradually sags toward the table 0,as shown in Fig. 1, in which .2 represents the sheet. The said jawsseparate and release the forward edge of the sheet at the time requiredto enable the sheet to drop upon the table. The action of the machine isautomatic, with the exception of the insertion of the sheets between thefeed-rolls, this being the only attention required on the part of theoperator.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the machine is simple in itsconstruction and is adapted to rapidly, efliciently, and uniformlydampen sheets of paper or other material.

I prefer to slightly depress the band at a point between the roll gandcylinder 0, in order to press the cords j closely against the sheets andin order to form an accumulation of water upon the upper surface of thehand. To this end I arrangea small roll-y between the roll 9 andcylinder 0, said roll being arranged to give the band a slight downwarddeflection, as shown in Fig. 2, thus causing an accumulation of water bygravitation at the points where the roll y bears upon the band. I findthat by thus depressing the band a better result is produced indampening and carrying forward the paper.

In practice I prefer to make the feed-r0112 in a number of sections, allmounted on a shaft, as shown in Fig. 4, instead of making one continuousroll.

The guide rolls or pulleys 7c and k are mounted onindependently-adjustable arms each formed on a hub or sleeve which 15attached by a set-screw 70 to a shaft 70 Said guide-rolls are thereforeindependently adjustable, so that each of the cords can be adjustedindependently to give it the required tension. The cords are necessarilyVery fine and slender, so that they will not injuriously indent thepaper. I prefer to make said cords of fine silk thread. i The jaws a nare preferably supported and prevented from sagging while they aregrasping the paper by meansof brackets p affixed to thesupporting-frame.

I do not limit myself to the chains 19 p as the means for supporting andcarrying the jaws n n, and I may support and carry said jaws by anyother suitable means.

I claim-- 1. In a paper-dampenin g machine, the combination of anendless band or apron, a cylinder and guide-rolls supporting the same,means for wetting said band,asqueezing-roll arranged to co-operate withsaid cylinder in expressing water from a sheet of material carried bysaid band, two series of endless cords, and guides or supports therefor,the lowerseries being arranged to bear on the under side of said sheetand to guide the sheet away from the periphery of the cylinder, whilethe upper series is arranged to bear on the upper side of the sheet andto guide the sheet away from the periphery of the squeezing-roll, as setforth. g

2. In a paper-dampenin g machine, the combination of an endless band orapron, a cylinder and guide-rolls supporting the same, means for wettingsaid band, a squeezing-roll arranged to co-operate with saidcylinder inexpressing water from a sheet of material carried by said band, twoseries of endless cords, and guides or supports therefor, and means forindependently adjusting the tension of said cords, as set forth.

3. The combination of the endless band, pressure-rolls between whichsaid band passes, the upper and lower series of cords arranged to pass,with the band, between said rolls,

4 r easnss,

guides which cause the two; series of cards to diverge in; passing fromsaid: rolls, and fixed shoes or guides to which a. sheet is guided ordelivered by the. lower c0rds, as set forth.

4. The combination of the endless band,

its supporting rolI-s, and the cordsj j, of the roll y, arranged todeflect a portion of the 1 band, as set, forth.

pressu re-rollsbetweenwhich said band passes, the upper and lower seriesof cords arrangedto pass, with the band, betweensaid rolls,

guides which cause the two series ofeordsto I ranged to grasp and carryforward the sheets delivered to said fixed guides,and means foroperating said jaws, as set forth.

5. The combinatiom with the paper dam-pening and delivering mechanism,including 1 f jaws, and; the stop-fingers. adapted to arrest the sheetsat a point where they are released 20 i by said jaws, as set forth.

6. The eom-binatiom with the endless band,

In testimony whereof I have, signed my name to this; specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 10th day of O. F. BROWN,A. D. HARRISON,

